Why is there no fixed syllabus?
The primary focus of the class is on the project/lesson. The weekly class meeting is likely to have students who are enrolled in the class for the first time and students who may have taken it 5 or 6 times in the past. A narrative syllabus that works for the first-time student will not work again and again. Therefore, I try to focus the topics of the weekly meetings on items of common interest, but new to everyone--new software or hardware in the studio, listening and discussion of new music, interaction with related art forms, guest speakers from a variety of related disciplines, or common informational needs that show themselves through lessons. In addition, though I have many topics I want to cover, please feel free to suggest topics you would like to see covered. We may have the flexibility to do that.

The following class policies are enumerated for the worst-case scenarios. They sound (and are) quite negative, but I don't anticipate most of our students will be affected by them. Despite what the guilty-before-proven-innocent tone below might imply, most of you know that I try to maintain as positive a creative environment as possible. They are in print as official class documentation should any dispute over grading and policy come up in the future and to be totally up-front about what the expectations are for a successful experience.

Attendance Policy
Because a large part of the information in this class can only come from hands-on experience and in-class observation, more than two unexcused absences (class or lesson) or being consistently late will result in a substantially lower grade. Please contact me regarding excused absences in advance, or bring a note from the Student Health Center or a non-relative doctor if it was a medical emergency. Also, see the list of religious holidays.

Lesson Policy
All K406/K506 students are expected to attend a lesson every two weeks. Additional lessons can be requested and scheduled if possible.

Lessons should not be canceled except in cases of documented (i.e. note from Health Center or doctor) illness or family emergency.
Cancellation of a lesson will result in an unexcused absence. Canceling a lesson due to lack of progress results in an absence and will not be rescheduled. Habitual lateness to lessons will result in an unexcused absence. In general I would prefer if you came a little early to lessons in case the previous lesson ended early.

Students are responsible to come prepared with music for each lesson. Most students will have at least 12 hours of studio time between lessons...it is expected that 12 hours of work will be completed for each lesson. If a studio time is missed, or if technical difficulties preclude a student from accomplishing 12 hours of work, it is expected that a student will use extra sign-up time to complete the work. If a student's assigned studio time becomes regularly unusable, it is expected that the student request a new time. The situation this policy tries to avoid is the student who does little or no work during the semester and has nothing to show for lessons, though they might burn the midnight oil at the end of the semester to produce a piece that has not previously been heard or discussed. This bypasses most of the educational experience this particular class has to offer, and therefore such a student will likely receive a suboptimal grade (see lesson prep GRADING below). Also, to make the best use of lesson time, students should have materials ready to go at lesson time, even if that means coming in early that day to load it on to the studio computer if done elsewhere (i.e. let's not waste precious lesson time downloading large files or hunting for them).

AssignmentsThere will be a number of weekly assignments, usually posted via Canvas. Some of these assignments will require use of the studio computer, since certain software may not be available otherwise. Signup time outside of regularly scheduled studio times will be made available. Assignments are graded pass/fail and have a due date. Assignments not completed by due date receive a fail.

Content QuizzesOccasional short content quizzes pertaining to assigned reading and listening will be administered at the beginning of class. Students may drop a single low grade.

Grading
30% lesson preparation 1st 8 weeks (graded 2/27)
30% lesson preparation 2nd 7 weeks (graded Finals week)
20% music produced during semester and submission of work for CECM class recital. Without a complete work on the CECM recital, a semester grade of no higher than a B is possible.
20% content quizzes, in-class presentations and assignments

Back up your work!
Don't trust our hard drives! We've had failures in the past, and it's easy for someone to delete your work by mistake. Use IU BOX, your own HDs, or our HD cradle to back up every session. Most of you should consider buying your own USB/TB hard drive, now that prices have come down so much, or hooking up your Mac laptop (as a target drive) if you have one and have the space. Feel free to ask for backup advice if needed. AND, save in versions ( my_piece v.1, my_piece v.2, etc.), a new version of at least everything but your audio files every session, with an occasional back-up of audio files.

Catastrophic loss of materials is not an acceptable excuse.

Access to help
For technical questions or possible broken equipment/software, email both Jeffrey Hass and John GIbson for the quickest response. We both check our email too many times a day. I try to provide as much individual help as possible, since I understand this is a difficult subject to master. I ask, however, that you double-check manuals and your procedures before contacting us, since either may provide answers to your problem. But we are here to help, so ask away or ask for an additional lesson.